'Trips for Tips' With Spring City Pedicab Co.

It's a whole new way to experience downtown Waukesha in its spring and summer bustle of art crawls, farmers' markets, live music and baseball games.

Enter Spring City Pedicab Co., a new business designed to give downtown Waukesha patrons a fast, fun and environmentally friendly way to get around while taking in all the sights.

Chase Murdock and his wife, Kaycee Murdock, co-owners of Spring City Pedicab Co., fell in love with the city's charm and local feel, and said the pedicab company "just fits."

"Downtown Waukesha is close to mine and my wife's hearts ... we're down here all the time," said Murdock. "A lot of people just walk down Main Street and that's it.

"There's a lot of other little streets and shops to see, so I thought it'd be something cool to check out downtown."

The Beginning

Murdock got the idea one day when surfing the Internet, and immediately put the idea into practice.

"From my idea to the business actually starting was probably like a week," said Murdock with a laugh. "But those seven days were packed with doing research ... once I got the concept I thought this is something that Waukesha should have."

Murdock took the cab out for the first time last weekend and the response, he said, was phenomenal.

"Even just going down the road and keeping an eye on people's reactions, it turns everybody's head," said Murdock. "Old people smilin', little kids pointing, people sticking their heads out of stores asking if I rented it and how much I charge ... when I tell them it's free they're shocked."

The Future

Currently, Murdock and his wife own two cabs, but he said they hope to have four or five in operation eventually.

The business is still in its infancy. They are currently developing logos to adorn the cabs and working on recruiting downtown businesses as advertisers, which Murdock said he doesn't think will be a problem.

"Most businesses are going to want to advertise on it once they know about it," said Murdock. "It's so eye-catching – everyone is looking at them when you're on the road."

Where and When

Murdock said the real kick-off for Spring City Pedicab Co. will be the first art crawl of the year.

"I want to be at all of those things that Waukesha puts on," Murdock said. "Every art crawl, every Friday night, every farmers' market, I want to be a part of it somehow."

Murdock also said he plans to be at the baseball games at Frame Park and many other events.

"I'm kind of in the learning process for all the things that are going on," Murdock said. "I didn't even realize there was this much going on."

If You See a Cab

If you happen to be out-and-about downtown and see a red pedicab cruising around, don't hesitate to stop it.

"I hope once people realize what it is that I'm getting flagged down all the time," said Murdock. "Even if it's 500 feet down the road, that 500 feet of getting a ride is going to be cool, they're gonna love it."

Murdock said he thinks the cab rides will give people a new way to see the city.

"I've seen Waukesha a lot, but other people haven't experienced it," said Murdock. "Getting pulled by somebody you're not moving so fast that you get whiplash if you see a cool building. ... You can check it out, you can talk, if you want to smoke a cigar, hey, that's awesome."

Murdock encourages people to check out the free rides, even if they don't have tip money.

"If you see a pedicab empty, flag it over, even if you don't have a couple bucks," Murdock said.